To Soothe A Brother's Fears
by Mala Suerte
Summary: A Sequel to A Little Brother! One brother has fears, and the other has to help distract him. A Shigure & Kyo brotherly fic.


**DISCLAIMER: **I don't own Fruits Baskets, but I really wish I did…

**To Soothe a Brother's Fears:**

**A Little Brother Sequel**

When Kyo was little, Shigure always wondered what the small boy would grow up to be, choosing to forget the future threat of the cage. Would Kyo be strong and healthy? Would he become a father of many children? A pervert maybe?

…would Kyo be alright? Would Shigure still be there for his Baby Cat, if he needed him?

There was much that scared Shigure when Kyo was little. An older brother's fears were never put to rest, after all. Anytime Kyo put a foot out into the street, and Shigure felt as if his heart would stop. But as soon as his little neko made it safely across the street, his heart would start to beat again.

Shigure constantly worried for Kyo.

So it only made since that when that little boy grew up, so did Shigure's fears.

Kyo had been living with Shigure and Yuki for two months when he disappeared for four more. Shigure was ready to panic. Yuki may have enjoyed being the only teen in the house again, but the poor inu's heart was in distress. Where was his brother?! He could be dead! He could be in a great deal of pain! …he could have been kidnapped!

Yuki started high school, and Tohru was soon in their lives. Life got interesting suddenly. And then, without warning, Kyo was back.

His first night home, after Yuki and Tohru had gone to bed, all Kyo could say to Shigure was, "Sorry 'Gure."

At least he said something.

It would be a few months before Shigure would ever hear the full story. Till that time, he was not very happy with Kyo. He took savage glee in teasing his little brother. Seeing as how the teen (who was fully trained in the arts of kicking ass, by the way) was far too big for a spanking, no matter how tempting, Shigure had to settle for something else. And though Kyo did not enjoy the teasing at all, he took it all in stride.

So one day, when Kyo had skipped school, Shigure was sitting at his work desk while Kyo laid out on the porch. The teen was stretched out, enjoying the feel of the sun on his skin. Shigure glanced at his Little Imp, and sighed. Really, he should not let the boy get away with skipping, but he liked it when his little brother chose to stick around with him.

All in all, it was a peaceful day.

Quietly, Kyo interrupted the silence. " 'Gure?"

"Mhmm," answered Shigure. He had been working on the script for his newest book. It would be a tribute to Kyo, though the boy would probably never know it; a book of children's stories.

"I'm sorry."

"…hm?"

Kyo rolled over, looking at Shigure with sad eyes. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you I was leaving. Shisho had decided at the last minute that we should go training. I'm sorry nii-san."

Shigure paused in his writing. He glanced at Kyo thoughtfully, and then turned back to his work. "Well you could have called once you got to wherever it was you were going."

"That's just it, there were no phones."

"Then from the nearest town or city. What about the phones from there," retorted Shigure. He was still quite upset. His little brother had left without word. It was not so easy to forgive and to forget.

"Jeez, the nearest neighbor was like 20 miles away. And we walked there! Shigure, stop being so difficult."

"Your point?"

"My point is you're being a jerk about this."

"You could have refused."

"…he's my guardian!"

"So?"

" _SO _ he's my… he's my dad. I'm going to do what he wants. I'm sorry if it wasn't what you wanted 'Gure."

Shigure frowned. He kept writing, not bothering to look up. "It's a little difficult to forgive your little brother when he goes off to fight bears and meditate under waterfalls; especially when one was frightened for said little brother. I had no idea what had happened, Kyo."

Smiling just a little, Kyo got up and moved to sit behind Shigure. He wrapped his arms around the man's neck gently, leaning on the man as he watched him work. "You're never going to stop with that, are you?"

"Mhmm, possibly not," grinned Shigure, using his free hand to pat one of Kyo's arms. The weight on his back reminded him of giving Kyo piggyback rides when he was little. "Those poor bears; having to see your frightful face in the mornings."

Kyo snorted, burying his head in his big brother's back to hide his laughter. "More like they were hiding from Shisho's cooking. The smell alone could upset anyone's stomach."

"Ah, he hasn't improved upon his cooking yet, I see. Still burning water?"

"And tea, and stew, and fish… Take your pick: he's burnt it."

Shigure laughed. "I suppose I'm not much better. I really shouldn't talk."

"But you can boil water. Shisho can't."

"Well, that's one point for me then."

Kyo grinned. "But then Yuki…"

"Don't remind me."

"Stomach still bothers you when you think about it?"

"Mhmm, yes. And my poor kitchen; remodeling isn't cheap I'll have you know."

Laughing, Kyo leaned forward a little on Shigure. "But you hated the sea-foam color nii-san."

"Ha, yes. What was the previous owner thinking?" questioned Shigure, leaning back against Kyo in retaliation.

"Not much, they were Sohmas after all."

"Ah, but my Little Imp, so are we."

"But we're the exceptions."

"Oh ho, so we are."

Both of them laughing, Shigure and Kyo just sat as they were, enjoying each other's presence. Kyo sighed, tilting his head to rest against Shigure's. Smiling, the elder continued his writing. They sat in silence for a bit. The only noise was the sound of Shigure's pencil scratching against the paper.

"You were trying to distract me, weren't you?" Shigure asked, not pausing in his work.

"Mhmm hmm. Did it work?" questioned Kyo.

"It did."

"Good."

"…thank you, Baby Cat."

"No problem nii-san."

It was never easy to make your older brother forget his fears. But Kyo had been doing it since he was little, since the moment Shigure had called him his little brother. Not all of the older man's fears were unfounded, but a lot of them were silly. Kyo had become a pro of distracting Shigure. And it would be a skill he would continue to use till he was old and grey.

After all, no one just went on a dare to glue Hatori Sohma's coffee mug to the kitchen counter.

That was like, suicide.

**The End**

**(Again)**

Like? Hate? I don't care what you think, review please! Also, a quick reminder: the coffee cup thing was a dare from Shigure to Kyo when our favorite neko was a kitten. Maybe I'll write about _that_ little incident…

And I know, shorter then _A Little Brother ._ I just did not feel the need to be as long winded. …that and I did this during my breaks at work. …my bad?


End file.
